As American and Indian intelligence continue to point to the Pakistani militant organization as responsible for last weeks attacks in Mumbai, I hope they've read a new report from the National Intelligence Council.
We'd never give up Texas. It embodies much of America's essence. Kashmir is Texas to India -- unfortunately, it's also the same to Pakistan.
When violence strikes, we get angry and make all this noise about our "Global War on Terror," which only feeds into the jihadists' pathology and apocalyptic visions.
The consensus in America is that US foreign policy is broken. To a great extent, Obama's political mandate is predicated on his promises to repair, refurbish and reconfigure American foreign policy.
We no longer can afford to be the world's biggest military spender, and although the world looks to us for leadership, it has rejected domination.
I thought this type of thing only happened in rogue African nations. The Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, was just given the go-ahead to shu...
Two of my wife's constituents had been holed up in their hotel room at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. They had been there for over a day avoiding the terrorist gunmen that still stalked its corridors.
Beyond dealing with urgent trouble spots, a key priority for Barack Obama will be to set his own tone that helps to educate the public at home and abroad.
In selecting General Jones as his national security adviser, Obama has eschewed the model of the foreign policy intellectual and instead placed a true military-affairs expert as his side in the White House.
If you watched the Palin interview and weren't scared out of your mind, then you're mentally ill. What you are not is responsible, informed, thoughtful, mature, educated, empathetic, or remotely serious.
"No African head of state should be in power for more than 10 years," declared President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in 1986. He is still president.
On many of the major foreign policy issues of the day, Sen. Clinton is, in effect, asking us to take on faith that she has the right policy approaches because, as she asserts, she has the experience to lead.
This year the fear and bigotry that animated Proposition 8 in California has made this a strange Thanksgiving.
We must acknowledge that when Obama takes the oath of office on January 20th, he is likely to find a rather unappetizing situation laid out before him in the Middle East.
The consensus in Washington is that we have the right to do all kinds of things in Latin American countries that we would never permit here. The new governments there do not agree.
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The problems with the economy are so great at this point that putting a cabinet together requires people who can hit the ground running. Obama is entering his presidency as a war time president and taking over the responsibily of an economy that is in such bad shape that it could easily tip into a full scale depression. He does not have the time to ease into planning and shaping he needs people who are already vetted and ready to go. It was not until the latter part of his campaign that we realized what a mess the economy was in, the housing loan collapse, failed banks, the auto industry etc. Would the critics of his cabinet and policies feel better if inexperieced and unvetted left wing liberals were the extent of the cabinet in these perilous times? He is not a John McCain bringing in a right wing nut from Alaska just to please the conservative Repug base.
wait a minute!!! He is not even in charge yet, what do you expect him to do? Give him a chance to prove himself once he is in charge, dont presume to know what he has in mind when we have no clue yet!
Why dont you complain about the lame duck still on our payroll which is sleeping all day (Bush).while we are in a deep financial crisis which he himself is responsible for! Why are you sleeping on that one???
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Obama will have too much on his plate when he gets started...I think we need to help him by giving him some space and time to sort his way out without too much negative criticisms.....who else could do better? MCCain? Palin? Hucklebee? So lets be happy and supportive we have a capable guy like Obama that shows he's willing to fix things. He cannot do all at once and not everything will be successful, but any improvement will be better than what we have now.
Just because we are using experienced people from a past leader, does not mean they will be doing the same work. Times have changed and they will have to resort to new solutions to adapt to the current problems, and will be under the management of a new leader. BY being young I think Obama is more likely to have fresh and more creative ideas than our predecessors.
I doubt very much it will be "more of the same!"
I am glad Obama is not paying too much attention to the left or right and is putting experience over ideology.
But I suppose, since you are such an expert on International affairs and diplomacy, he should listen to you.
Just one more naysayer lining up to boo Obama before he actually has a chance to govern. Clearly, the pivotal role on Obama's national security team is his own.
(Warning: Approaching sports metaphor!)
Dress football players up in pads and helmets, and they look more or less the same other than the jerseys. The coach makes the calls, and that accounts for the difference. The sport itself doesn't change. Sometimes, the players don't change. Strategy and execution do.
I was thinking along the lines of an individual creative artist, his pallette and the broad outlines of an unfinished piece. Time to interpret and critique later.
Beehner, Obama isn't even in office yet! The world isn't static. As Obama said on the CBS 60 Minutes interview, change will come from him as the commander in chief, and that will resonate through his staff.